Reunion
by Heleentje
Summary: Dear student: Last year we were proud to see you graduate from our school, Duel Academia. This year we are equally proud to uphold a long tradition and invite you back for our annual class reunion...


Not much to say. It's fic. Fic that escalated a bit. And I hope you enjoy reading it. Also, concrit is still love.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any of its characters.

Thanks to the people who served as my sounding board, and thanks in particular to **Olynthus **and **Blueglaceon**. You guys are awesome.

* * *

**Reunion**

_From: Duel Academia, Kaiba Corporation**  
**_

_To: Graduating class of 2008_

Dear student,

Last year we were proud to see you graduate from our school, Duel Academia. This year we are equally proud to uphold a long tradition and invite you back for our annual class reunion.

The reunion will take place on Duel Academia Island. On Saturday August first, a special ship will leave Domino City at 11:00 and head for Duel Academia.

If you will be present, please notify either Kaiba Corporation or Duel Academia. Addresses can be found on the back of this letter.

Yours faithfully,

_Kaiba Seto_

_Principal Samejima_

_--  
_

"Asuka-sama! Fubuki-sama!"

Asuka looked up and used one hand to wave at her two friends on the lower deck, keeping the other on the safety rail of the boat. She wasn't afraid of the water, but it wouldn't do to fall down when the ship had just left the harbor. Fubuki, standing next to her, blew the girls below a kiss and Asuka smiled when she saw them swoon.

"Momoe! Junko! Quick, come up here!" she shouted. Momoe and Junko disappeared from her sight and reappeared a few minutes later on the other side of the deck.

"Asuka-sama!" Momoe greeted her enthusiastically. "You look fantastic, I just love your outfit!"

Asuka had abandoned her old school uniform after going to America to study. Since her college didn't require a uniform, she was now dressed in dark jeans and a loose-fitting, cream-colored blouse. Fubuki, on the other hand, had chosen to wear his complete Obelisk Blue uniform, because, as he'd said, they never got the chance to wear it anymore. Never mind that many old students still chose to wear their uniform in public and that Fubuki wore whatever he liked, whenever he wanted.

"How are you two doing?" Asuka asked, and her friends immediately launched into a long explanation. Junko's pupils seemed to be the cutest children to ever grace the planet, and Momoe had just got an apprenticeship with a well-known fashion designer and she and her boyfriend were contemplating buying an apartment.

"And you?" Junko asked. Asuka opened her mouth to reply, but Fubuki cut her off.

"She was the best student in her year!" he announced enthusiastically, pulling Asuka in a one-armed hug. "She was awesome, everyone said so!"

Asuka smiled indulgently and escaped from Fubuki's grasp. Momoe and Junko hugged her happily.

"That's fantastic, Asuka-sama!"

"Ah, thank you." Asuka stared at Domino City in the distance. It had almost disappeared from view, which meant that they'd be seeing Duel Academia any minute now. She wondered how much had changed in the past year.

Fubuki excused himself and went to talk with some of the other students on the boat. Momoe and Junko came over to stand on either side of her and watched the disappearing city.

"It has been over a year…" Asuka started. She waved at a few of her friends on the lower deck and tried to find either Manjoume, Shou or Juudai, but to no avail.

"Yes," Momoe nodded. "But it was fun, wasn't it? I miss it!"

"Fun, yes," Asuka said. She didn't mention the Seven Stars, or the Society, or the desert world and least of all the Dark World or their time caught in Darkness. Momoe and Junko didn't know as much as she did anyway, and despite everything, she had had fun. Duel Academia had taken her brother from her, but it had also given him back, and it had given her some of the best friends she'd ever had. She smiled.

"Yes. Yes, it was fun."

--

They arrived at Duel Academia at a little past one, and Momoe and Junko left her in search of some friends they'd spotted in the distance. Asuka looked around, momentarily lost. The island was still as she remembered it. The volcano towered over them, and in the distance she spotted the academy. The dorms were hidden behind the trees, but Asuka was sure she could find them with her eyes closed.

"Asuka-san!"

Asuka turned around and smiled at the new arrival. "Shou-kun! How nice to see you, how have you been?"

Shou stopped in front of her. He'd grown several inches in the past year, and was now nearly as tall as she was, but he was still very much as she remembered. He and his brother had become quite famous over the year. Their new league was met with hostility at first, but after a few months and the support of some famous duelists (Edo Phoenix among them), the public had learned to love them. Asuka had watched the events unfold with interest.

"Oh, great! Yesterday we had another appointment with Kaiba Corp. They're interested in sponsoring the league, nothing's final yet, but we've got a good chance," Shou recounted, smiling happily. "Nii-san is going back today, but he insisted I come here," he looked around. "Have you seen Manjoume-kun? Or Aniki?"

Asuka shook her head. "I haven't seen either of them. Manjoume-kun said he'd come. As for Juudai…" she trailed off. She hadn't heard anything from Juudai since May, when he'd suddenly appeared in her lecture hall, looking a little worse for wear but otherwise exactly the same as always. He'd stayed a few days and they'd gone out for a drink with her friends, but after that he'd just disappeared again.

"He'll show up," Shou said confidently. "I'm sure he will, he always does." He turned towards the academy. "Let's go? I think they want to welcome us and maybe we'll find the others there."

"Yes, probably," Asuka replied, as she saw Fubuki in the distance and motioned for him to wait for them, before following Shou to the main building.

--

"… Therefore, I feel honored to welcome you all back again. The island is open for all of you today and I will not keep you from your friends any longer. Enjoy this day!"

Asuka spotted Manjoume as the crowd started to disperse and waved discreetly. He smiled at her and motioned to the exit, where Tome-san had set up an improvised bar.

"I'll get drinks," Fubuki told her, and promptly made his way through the crowd. He somehow managed to end up in front of the line and returned a bit later with drinks for her and Shou, and with Manjoume right behind him.

"Tenjoin-kun," he greeted, "Shou."

Asuka greeted him warmly and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush and earning him a faintly jealous look from Shou.

"Let's go to the lake," she proposed, and a bit later all four of them had found a place that gave them a good view on the water and their old classmates, who were visiting their favorite spots. It was almost like they were students again, only Rei, Kenzan and Fujiwara couldn't be here. They were still studying and were now on holiday. And of course, Juudai hadn't shown up yet. Asuka didn't really let it bother her. They'd all kept contact via mail and phone calls, but actual visits were a rare occurrence, and she was going to make the best of it.

"So Choji asks," Manjoume recounted, "how I am going to live without their support."

"And what did you say?" Shou asked.

Manjoume shrugged. "Told him I didn't need a private jet to survive."

Asuka laughed, and Shou spoke up: "That reminds me, we had one of those reporters following us around a few months ago. He insisted that it was impossible to set up the league through legal means, because I had 'only just graduated' and nii-san 'couldn't duel anymore'. You know the guy, he's the one always bragging at every tournament how his duel skills are so much better than those of the participants."

Manjoume made a disgusted noise and Asuka shook her head. She did know that reporter. He got on the nerves of almost every duelist she knew and it was a small miracle he still had his job.

"So what happened?" Fubuki asked impatiently. "What did you do?"

"Well, I was all for dueling him and proving him wrong," Shou grinned at the memory. "but nii-san insisted he duel. He'd been building his new deck for some time and he wanted to use it."

"And?" Manjoume pressed.

"One turn kill," Shou said simply.

Fubuki cheered and high-fived Manjoume, and Asuka laughed again. She re-folded her legs and stared out over the lake. No trace of Juudai…

"Do you think Juudai will show up?" she asked quietly. "He wasn't on the boat."

"He will if he feels like it," Manjoume stated. "Not really that reliable, is he?"

Shou didn't seem disturbed. "Aniki comes when he's needed. And I doubt that he'd miss this opportunity. He showed up at our first tournament."

"And at my first match in the Pro League," Manjoume added. "Suddenly he was just sitting in the audience. I doubt he even had a valid ticket."

"Did you talk to him?" asked Shou.

"He just popped up in my dressing room, congratulated me on my win, and asked me if I could find him some cat food for Pharaoh because he was going to Australia to visit Jim and wasn't sure if he'd find any there."

Jim had indeed mentioned Juudai visiting him in one of his mails, all the way back in October. He'd also mentioned something about the availability of cat food.

"He had me hide Pharaoh in my dorm room for three days," Asuka recounted. "We aren't even allowed to keep pets, and he still somehow managed to get away with it," she smiled, "I wonder how he does it."

"Are you guys talking about me?"

"Aniki!" Shou shouted. Asuka turned around to see Juudai right behind her. His outfit looked much worse than it had in May. He'd obviously washed it regularly, but that didn't prevent anyone from noticing that his Osiris jacket had apparently gone through some very rough times and that there were holes in his jeans.

Juudai must've seen them stare, because he looked at his clothes as well.

"Ah, well, I was going to stop by Mom and Dad and pick up new jeans and trainers, but I didn't get the chance yet," he smoothed out his jacket and grinned, slightly embarrassed. "And I wanted to ask Chronos-sensei if they still had some jackets left. I wouldn't mind getting a few extras." He put down his bag, and Pharaoh immediately jumped out.

"Never mind your clothes, when did you even get here?" Manjoume asked. "Wait, on second thought, I'm sure I don't want to know."

"Well, sorry I'm late," Juudai said, sitting down between Shou and Fubuki. "I just completely forgot about the reunion! Time zones, you know? I was in Europe, in this little town in the middle of some woods, and it was only just past midnight. They had the most amazing springs there, though. All over the city, and you could drink from all of them too," he paused and frowned. "But some of them tasted really bad. Oh, and they had this very nice little park. Bit of a weird name though. Park of Seven Hours…" he trailed off as Pharaoh sauntered over and plopped down into Manjoume's lap.

"So how did you get here so fast?" Fubuki asked.

"Oh, just…" Juudai wiggled his fingers, a gesture Asuka chose to interpret as 'vague Darkness powers'. "I was planning on going to France first, and then visit Johan. Did you know Rei is in France?"

"She told me," Asuka nodded. Rei had called her and gushed for over an hour about the country, the food, and Paris, where she'd gone with Martin. Although "it's really strange to stay at vice-principal Napoleon's house. And the weather can be really awful."

Juudai folded his arms behind his back and looked up at the sky. "It's good to be back… Have any of you seen Chronos-sensei?"

"Not yet, no," Shou said. "Where could he be?"

Juudai closed his eyes briefly. "Oh, never mind, I think I know. Anyone up for visiting him?"

"Sure," Fubuki got up first and Asuka followed his example, dusting off her jeans in the process. Pharaoh refused to leave Manjoume's lap, despite his attempts to get the cat to leave, and he eventually just gave up and carried the cat in his arms.

"Where do you think he is?" Shou asked, as Juudai led them away from the lake and in the opposite direction of the Obelisk Blue dorms.

"Huh? Oh, at the beach," Juudai said distractedly. He cocked his head slightly, as if listening to an invisible person. Asuka saw Manjoume stare and went over to him. "Is that Yubel?"

"No, Hane Kuriboh," Manjoume replied quietly. "But she's definitely around, she was here a few minutes ago when Juudai just arrived. I think she's always around somewhere."

"Probably," Asuka agreed as they emerged from the forest and walked down the road towards the beach. She assumed that Yubel had probably heard their conversation just now too, but didn't get the chance to dwell on it, as Juudai shouted: "Chronos-sensei!"

Asuka had noticed her former teacher at the welcoming ceremony, but hadn't had the chance to talk to him before he'd disappeared. She was mildly surprised to see him here, at the beach, instead of at the reception back in the main building.

"Signor Juudai!" Chronos turned around so fast that the sand around his feet flew up, "Signor Shou, signora Asuka, signor Manjoume!" he paused briefly for breath, and finished with "Signor Fubuki!"

"Chronos-sensei," Juudai grinned, stopping right in front of him and enthusiastically shaking his hand. "Why are you here?"

"How are you?" Asuka asked, taking Juudai's place and shaking Chronos' hand as well. She stepped back to let the others greet their teacher.

"How nice to see you all again!" Chronos exclaimed, looking them over. "I remember you leaving like it was yesterday! Why, I was telling signora Rei just last month how strange it was not to see you here… How are you all doing? Signor Shou, I heard you and signor Ryou are having so much success!"

Shou smiled and nodded. "Nii-san is going to Kaiba Corporation today, we hope we will get the deal."

"It is so nice to see my students do well!"

"How are you doing, sensei?" Shou asked in turn.

"Ah, the life of a teacher! The daily struggle, preparing classes, teaching students, transferring the knowledge you worked so hard to acquire… But at the end of the day, there's the glorious feeling of a job well-done!"

"Yes!" Juudai and Fubuki agreed, both grinning, and Fubuki raised his arms in a gesture intended to encompass them all. "And then you get to see us again!"

Asuka patted her brother on the shoulder and he lowered his arms, but his grin didn't disappear. "Chronos-sensei, why are you not at the reception?"

"Oh, I was just taking some time off, that's all!"

Juudai grinned. "Sensei, were you scared again?"

"Scared? Not at all, what is there to be scared of?" Chronos exclaimed in indignation. "Why should I be scared?"

"I think you are protesting too much!" Fubuki said, teaming up with Juudai. "Sensei, we all want to see you, why don't you come with us?"

Both Fubuki and Juudai were a force to be reckoned with all on their own. Asuka wasn't all that surprised that her teacher wasn't able to withstand their combined power.

"It is just so strange to see you all again, you've all grown so much!" Chronos all but wailed, and Juudai patted him on the back. "It is so painful for a teacher to let his students go!"

"But you taught us so many things, sensei," Shou piped up. "Isn't that important too?"

"Yes," Asuka agreed, and Manjoume, standing next to her, nodded. "Why don't we go to the reception? I'm sure everyone would like to see you," she smiled gently, and let Juudai pull Chronos with them. This was nice, she decided, as they went back to the main building. It had been too long since she'd seen everyone, and she hadn't really realized how much she'd missed them. They really should meet up more often. Maybe. If she was in Japan, and Shou wasn't too busy with his Circuit and Manjoume wasn't dueling. And, she supposed, when Juudai was around at all.

They should do this more often.

"Sensei," Juudai asked when they neared the main building, "Can I get a new jacket? Mine is a little worn out."

Asuka smiled, as Shou and Fubuki laughed and Manjoume sighed deeply. This was nice too.


End file.
